COLD NOSES FOR WARM HEARTS!

Shelter Dogs Warm Hearts With Cold Noses

By Joanna Samson, FOTAS Director

as seen in the "Aiken Standard" on February 16, 2014

All my dogs were adopted from a shelter.  It never occurred to me to go anyplace else.

Dogs with pedigrees are always more likely than not to find a good home, but the thousands of abandoned animals that end up in shelters every year are not so lucky.  It haunts me that an animal whose future has become uncertain through no fault of its own may die unloved.

My husband and I adopted four dogs from shelters and one abandoned on the side of the road.  Each one of them has enriched our lives in ways we could not have foreseen on the day we brought them home.

We often ask ourselves: how did we get so lucky to find five dogs that have given us far more than we have given them - a warm place to live, two square meals a day and consistent care?

I'd like to tell you there was some method to the selection process that yielded such great results, but that would be untrue.

Our first dog, Ricky, a white shepherd mix with boundless energy, was selected because our friend with many dogs who went with us to the shelter thought there was something special about him.

Our second dog, Maggie Mae, who was picked up on the side of the road by our vet, came home because Ricky fell in love with her while waiting to get his rabies shot.

When Maggie Mae died from cancer, we took Ricky back to the shelter to interview a few prospects. He selected Mack - a brown Australian shepherd mix who willingly shared his toys and his water bowl.

After Ricky died, I was directed by some internal force to go to the Aiken County Animal Shelter even though we weren't yet ready for another dog. When I walked into the back, the very first dog I saw was a pretty dachshund mix who cocked her head and met my gaze with a "what took you so long?" look.  When I found out her name was Maggie, I was undone. She came home with me over my husband objections, swiftly won him over, and has been by my side ever since.

I went back to the County shelter after Mack died of old age. One of the staff handed me a scruffy little black and white terrier mix.

"Absolutely not," I objected, "no terriers!"

"He just looks like a terrier," she assured me. "Really, he doesn't act like one." Jack joined the family. 

So you see, the selection process for a new dog is not an exact science. It is some quirky combination of luck, opportunity, instinct and reason. Sure, you need to assess the basics: how much time you can spend, the cost of care, the type of pet for your lifestyle and your age and energy level - all of those things are important.

But at the end of the day, consistent love and care transforms almost any dog into a loving companion, especially a shelter dog.

Ricky was a resourceful rogue whose escapades are legendary and hilarious. Maggie Mae was a little angel. Mack was protective and affectionate.

Jack & Maggie Mae during the winter ice storm this week in Aiken; don't they look comfy!

Miss Maggie is, well, simply the best dog in the world. And sweet, docile Jack? As it turns out, now that he is healthy, he is indisputably a terrier. 

None of our dogs turned out exactly as we expected -  they turned out better. When the time comes, adopt a shelter dog - the possibilities for happiness are endless.

FOTAS Volunteers work with the AIKEN COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER, 411 Wire Road.  For more information, contact “info@fotasaiken.org” or visit FOTAS on line at www.fotasaiken.org.

Aiken County Animal Shelter:  “By the Numbers” 

due to the ICE STORM here in Aiken, we don't have numbers to report this week

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week!” 

**All adoption fees include:  spay/neuter, heartworm test, all shots, worming, and microchip.

TAYLOR SWIFT   German shepherd mix, female, 1 year old, 65 lbs   Only $70 

MANDY MOORE  Tortoiseshell, female, 3 yrs old, 7.7 lbs   Only $35

Transforming Lives through Kindness

Transforming Lives through Kindness

by Joanna Dunn Samson, FOTAS Board of Directors

as seen in the "Aiken Standard" on November 17, 2013

They became FOTAS foster families for different reasons.  

Carolyn McCarthy wanted to find a way to ward off the inevitable holiday blues caused by her mother’s death.  Sylvia Igoe wanted to celebrate the memory of the family’s special dog, Apple.  Dineen Daniels wanted to express her life-long passion for animals and honor her own upbringing to value the importance of all life.

They each had slightly different expectations for the foster experience.  

Ms. McCarthy wanted to teach Liam and Reece the importance of giving back, of helping out in the community.  Ms. Igoe wanted Isabelle and Sean to experience first hand significant life lessons like overcoming adversity and the power of forgiveness.  Ms. Daniels wanted to reinforce the qualities of kindness and compassion in Baily, Parker and Josh.

By all measures, the fostering experience has been a success for all three of these families.

Liam and Reece request supplies for the Aiken County Animal Shelter in lieu of birthday gifts.  

Bailey and Parker take their jobs of feeding and caring for the puppies seriously, often getting up at night to help their mom bottle-feed.  Josh helps his mom administer medicine. He plans on being a veterinarian when he grows up.

Isabelle and Sean help their mom with all aspects of caring for the momma dog and their puppies: feeding, filling water bowls, cleaning the crates, playing and socializing with the puppies and giving extra special love and attention to the momma dogs.  They know how important their efforts are in helping these puppies find a forever home.

Life lessons learned?  You bet.  Parker loves to watch the puppies being born.  “It’s so cool that each puppy comes into the world in its own little sack.”

Isabelle and Sean have learned that even though these dogs have had challenges and hardship, they never give up.  With a little help, they can forgive and learn to love again.

Liam and Reece have learned to let go gracefully when the time comes for the puppies to leave.  “We know they are going to a safe place and a nice home,” says Liam.  

“It’s hard,” says Reece, but he thinks about the next dog he will foster and help find a new home.

Foster families like these are a critical component of FOTAS and the County’s efforts to find every adoptable animal a permanent home.  Every dog or puppy transferred to a foster home frees up space on the adoption floor of the County’s grossly overcrowded shelter for another adoptable animal.  That’s a big deal.

Carolyn McCarthy says, “The change that occurs in a dog when it is shown a little kindness is amazing.  It can take weeks, days or sometimes even hours, but every dog is different by the time they leave us.”

So, too, is the family who fostered that dog – it is transformed by the kindness it shows.

FOTAS desperately needs more foster families.  Call us at 803-514-4313 for more information.  You’ll be glad you did.

FOTAS Volunteers work with the AIKEN COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER, 411 Wire Road.  For more information, contact “info@fotasaiken.org” or visit FOTAS on line at www.fotasaiken.org.

Aiken County Animal Shelter:  “By the Numbers”

Nov. 4 - Nov. 9, 2013

10 dogs and 2 cats adopted

Year to Date:  

629 terrific pets adopted

THANK YOU AIKEN COUNTY COMMUNITY!

Aiken County Shelter “Pets of the Week!”

**All adoption fees include:  spay/neuter, heartworm test, all shots, worming, and microchip.

BABE,  shepherd mix.  Female, 2 years old, 31 lbs        Only $35 -- adoption special.

BENJAMIN ----    Domestic short hair, Male.  4 months old   3.4 lbs      Only $35.

IT'S ALL IN THE FAMILY

IT’S ALL IN THE FAMILY

by Edythe “Edie” Hubler, FOTAS Board of Directors

Over the past weeks, we have written several times about the FOTAS foster program, where mama dogs and their puppies or dogs needing special attention are temporarily cared for in a loving home environment until they are ready for adoption.  We’ve heard about fostering from dedicated volunteers, from one lucky dog who was being fostered, and from a happy family who adopted a fostered dog.

This week and next we want to celebrate some of the children of foster families.  We asked Abby and Audrey Wiseman, Caroline Wolcott, Isabelle and Sean Igoe, Josh, Parker and Bailey Daniels and their parents to share how the experience has affected and shaped their lives.  These are two of their stories.

“The children have learned the responsibility of having to feed and care for pets, but more significantly, they have learned about life,” says Heather Wiseman, who along with her husband, Grant, and two daughters, Audrey and Abby, have fostered over 200 puppies. “Fostering has taught our family how to prioritize and think about what is most important in our lives.”

Her daughter Audrey says, “The puppies love us even though we are imperfect in so many ways.”  She says the love you see in their faces when they look at her melts her heart. “It’s an easy and fun way to help Aiken and the nice people at the shelter.”  She also thinks the puppies are funny when they howl.

Audrey’s sister Abby likes animals because they are different, but very much like us.  The puppies make her laugh because “they are so small that when they sneeze or shake their head, they fall over.”

Caroline Wolcott is the daughter of Randy and Girl Wolcott, who have sponsored close to 150 puppies and their mamas.  “The most fun about foster puppies is the age when they are just stumbling around and learning to walk.  It’s fun to watch them take their first little steps,” says Caroline.  She thinks it’s really funny when they get the “crazies” and run around their kennel.  “And then boom - they fall asleep.”

All these children are active participants in the care of these animals.  They pick up dirty newspapers, feed, give medications, bathe, and hold for the dreaded toenail clipping. All have seen first hand the miracle of birth. 

The positive effect of the fostering experience on these children has been so much bigger than simply performing a kind act for an animal.  It has taught them compassion, empathy, discipline and planning.  It develops their self-esteem because they know their role in socializing these puppies is an important factor in getting them adopted.  It brings them joy.

Sounds like a pretty good deal all around, doesn’t it?  Bring your family together; join the FOTAS foster program.  You and our many needful dogs and puppies will be glad you did. 

Call the FOTAS hotline at 803-514-4313, or email us at info@FOTASAiken.org.

FOTAS Volunteers work with the AIKEN COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER, 411 Wire Road.  For more information, contact “info@fotasaiken.org” or visit FOTAS on line at www.fotasaiken.org.

Aiken County Animal Shelter:  “By the Numbers”

 

Oct. 28 - Nov. 2, 2013

 

15 dogs adopted

Year to Date:  

617 terrific pets adopted

 

THANK YOU AIKEN COUNTY COMMUNITY!

Aiken County Shelter “Pet of the Week!”

**All adoption fees include:  spay/neuter, heartworm test, all shots, worming, and microchip.

SUKI -- Shephard mix, female -- 11 months old, 55 lbs.    Only $38

C.C. -- domestic short hair, female -- 4 years old, 9 lbs.    Only $35

Look what a Community that Cares can Do!

Aiken County Animal Control Services has 4 animal control officers, 2 veterinary technicians, 1 dispatcher, 1 custodian and 1 chief enforcement officer.  These 9 employees are responsible for protecting the public from the hazards or nuisance posed by animals at large.  Animal control staff has an additional obligation to protect domestic animals from abuse and neglect. 

Aiken County is approximately 110 square miles, much of it rural.  Aiken County Animal Shelter is 5,000 square feet, not nearly half the size needed to support all the living things it must house in the execution of its mission; not the staff, or the volunteers, the public or the four-legged residents.  And Aiken County Animal Control is obligated to take every single unwanted dog or cat that comes through its door and keep them, hopefully healthy, for at least 5 days.

Four years ago, before Friends of the Animal Shelter (FOTAS) organized, the County Shelter euthanasia rate was above 90%.  For the first quarter of 2012, the average euthanasia rate is 59%!  Yes, it will explode in a couple of months when breeding season kicks in for all the unspayed and unneutered cats and dogs, and when some people decide that it is easier to surrender their dog to the shelter so they can go on vacation than to make arrangements for its care.  Shelter staff and volunteers find it astounding and heartbreaking how often this occurs.  But for now, we can celebrate a huge victory, especially for all the incredible pets in good loving homes who would not be there without people who decided to get involved.

Where do are these people come from?  The simple answer is everywhere.  Take the woman who saved up one hundred one-dollar bills.  The first time she achieved $100, she left it as credit at Aiken Saddlery and the shelter got a bunch of new leashes and collars.  Just recently the anonymous benefactor hit the mark again and donated 100 dollar bills neatly wrapped in an envelope. 

Then there are the children.  Our County Administrator’s granddaughter, Hailey, wants to spend every free moment volunteering at the shelter, and when she has a birthday, her gifts are donations for the dogs and cats.  Our Editor for the Aiken Standard’s son, Parker, and the Daniel’s kids, too, have had “Giving Parties” on behalf of the animals at the County Shelter.  These kids are still in elementary school.  It’s exciting to think of the kind of citizens they will become.

Retirees and local businesses have come forward as sponsors for FOTAS events, and as contributors to many of our projects: the cat colony, Cats at the Shelter ( AKA “C. A.T.S.” ), the overflow pens, the big dog play yard and shade hut, the vetting of design specialists for a new shelter, and most recently, the conversion of “Herbie Brown,” from a ’79 Airstream Landyacht to FOTAS’ new Dog Rescue Waggin’.

 

Aiken County, keep it up and one day we will never have to euthanize an adoptable pet!

FOTAS Volunteers work with the AIKEN COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER, 411 Wire Road.  For more information, contact “info@fotasaiken.org” or visit FOTAS on line at www.fotasaiken.org

Aiken County Animal Shelter:  “By the Numbers”

For the month of March 2012

Received: 222 dogs and 111 cats

Adoptions:  59 dogs and 24 cats

Transfers:  56 dogs

Euthanized:  110 dogs and 89 cats

Aiken County Animal Shelter Pets of the Week

BUDDY – 1.5 yr chocolate lab mix.  

 Silky and delightful to play with. $70 is a DEAL!

PRETTY – Amazing markings and a sweet disposition, all her purrs can be yours for only $35

 

Help Us Win Free Spay/Neuter at Bark to the Park!

There are so many wonderful ways to do A Very Good Thing, but you only have six days left to pick one.  

Friends of the Animal Shelter-Aiken (FOTAS) was founded to help our Aiken County Animal Shelter become a community-centered, community supported facility with programs in which we could all take pride.  We had no idea what a huge project this initiative would become.  With the county, FOTAS is finally stewarding the building of a new shelter.  With our rescue partners and dedicated volunteers, we are expanding adoptions and transfers of our homeless pets.

 

Now, through Pawmetto Lifeline’s Bark to the Park on Saturday, TEAM FOTAS Aiken County can make a huge contribution to the County Spay/Neuter Voucher Program and help us promote  spay/neuter in the most hard to reach areas of the county.

We are counting on your support to achieve one of the top five fundraising spots for area rescues for this event.  There are several ways to help, but whichever one you choose, be certain to note that you are supporting TEAM FOTAS Aiken County:
 

Go to the FOTAS website or to this link: www.supportprojectpet.com/goto/FOTAS 

From there you have the option to:

1.     Join the team ($25/$15 under 12)

2.     Support an individual walker (any amount)

3.     Donate to the team or an individual walker for any amount.

You may write us a check and note that it is for Bark to the Park and we will submit it in your name.  It is tax deductible. If you join the team you can be a “virtual walker” or join us at Finlay Park in Columbia. Just be sure that you make it very clear that you are supporting FOTAS at Bark to the Park.  We want every dollar to count.

Herby Brown, our “new” Dog Rescue Waggin’, will be making his debut at the FOTAS booth.  A 1979 converted Airstream trailer, he has been an amazing collaborative project in the making.  We will have our county dogs available for adoption sporting their new “Adopt Me” vests.

We hope you will come out with your family and your dogs.  The walk and the festival are a blast for dog lovers.  It is barely an hour away.  Directions are available on line or contact FOTAS for more information.

If you do plan to attend, be sure to tell them when you register that you are supporting Team FOTAS Aiken County!  If you are donating, supporting a walker or participating as a virtual walker, be sure to do it as a supporter of Team FOTAS!

Finally, you can help Equine Rescue of Aiken by attending their spectacular spring fundraiser, “Buck the Film,” on Friday, April 13.  There will be a matinee and an evening showing which is accompanied by a party and silent auction. Tickets and information are available on line at  www.aikenequinerescue.com

Have a very good time doing a very good thing: Support Team FOTAS at Bark to the Park and Equine Rescue at Buck the Film.  Happy Easter!  

FOTAS Volunteers work with the AIKEN COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER, 411 Wire Road.  For more information, contact “info@fotasaiken.org” or visit FOTAS on line at www.fotasaiken.org

P.S. Come to the Bark to the Park Festival on Sat. APril 14th from 11 to 3 pm $10 for adults, $5 for children 5-12 yrs. Place FOTAS on your entrance waiver to show support for the Aiken County Animal Shelter and help us win free spay and neuter vouchers for Aiken County Animals.

Aiken County Animal Shelter:  “By the Numbers”

For the Week of March 26th thru April 1st 2012

Received: 36 dogs and 26 cats

Adoptions:  15 dogs and 9 cats

Euthanized:  45 dogs and 15 cats

Aiken County Animal Shelter Pets of the Week

TRIXIE – 1+ yr. Gets on great with everyone 

and loves to retrieve a ball!

 

ZENA – 3 yrs.  A sweet little gal who loves her window ledge in the sunlight 

 

What County Shelter Volunteers Get for Their Time

“I’ll do anything; just don’t ask me to go to the shelter,” say most of the dog and cat lovers who want to support the Aiken County Shelter and volunteer with FOTAS. 

Of course it’s heartbreaking.  You walk in and all those eyes are watching you, following you.  “Please, please, please pick me,” pray those eyes amidst a cacophony of barking.  If you love dogs (of course you do; you are there), you want to be the answer to those prayers, and you can’t.

It is much the same in the cat house, you sit and the cats come purring, eager for a neck rub, a fanny scratch, a cuddle.  You watch them cavort and compete for your attention and think how lovely it would be to do this from your own sofa, but you can’t.  So you plead, “Don’t make me go to the shelter. I can’t.”

So what would you get, if you could and you did?  There are some very special people who do go, regularly.  Four days a week, every week, some FOTAS volunteers are at the shelter walking dogs on leashes, teaching them manners and simple commands, or just how to trust that someone cares.  Others go twice a

week and stay until every adoptable dog has been taken out of its cage.  Even once a week makes a difference.

Caroline recalls intending to volunteer one day a week and for two-and-a-half years she has gone four days, every week.  Why?  She says it is so rewarding to make a difference in so many lives.  She loves seeing the dogs get a new home.  She loves helping with the transfers to our northern rescue partners.  She loves helping the new volunteers learn the ropes.  “People should come and find out they can do it, Caroline says, “Don’t get discouraged; the dogs can sense it, and some are already so scared.”

Jim and his wife, Carol, joined Sybil Davis’s “Walk a Hound, Lose a Pound” program at the shelter.  Sybil taught them when the dog pulls on the leash, to just stop; don’t let them pull you.  They learn.  Carol walks the smaller dogs and leaves happy, in a dirty shirt, knees covered in dog hair.  With or without Carol, Jim stays until all the dogs have gotten out.

Denise and Sandra spend four days a week with the dogs. “It’s a calling,” says Denise, “You have to have a passion for it.  If a dog is sick, we notice.  If I miss a day, I want to know what happened at the shelter.  It’s where my heart is.”

“I was an RN for 40 years,” says Sandra, “I like nurturing, but there were days when I didn’t want to go work.  I never feel that way about going to the shelter.  I think of that special one who is waiting for me.  I love dog kisses and the dirty shirts!”

Why not try it?  You will find love at the Aiken County Shelter, and may help others find love, too.  Until April 7^th, all dogs and cats are half price. 

  FOTAS Volunteers work with the AIKEN COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER, 411 Wire Road.  For more information, contact “info@fotasaiken.org” or visit FOTAS on line at www.fotasaiken.org

Aiken County Animal Shelter:  “By the Numbers”

For the Week of March 12th thru 18th 2012

Received: 73 dogs and 25 cats

Adoptions:  9 dogs and 3 cats

Euthanized:  30 dogs and 14 cats

BRUNSON 1 yr 27 lbs Darling $35 includes shots,microchip, neuter

“Pets of the Week” Spring Adoption Special ½ Price!

MANDY Petite Precious Calico 1/2 price $20!